1,721,152 research outputs found
Describing and Understanding the Morphology of the Urban Landscape. The Case Study of Cagliari, Italy
No full textThe development of a morphological analysis of the built environment emerges as a central issue for comprehending the structural properties of the urban layout and its generative processes and for establishing a knowledge framework for guiding planning decisions. The proposed study presents an analysis that combines space syntax and geo-spatial analysis tools to describe urban form quantitatively. The suggested analysis is structured as follows: i) definition of the case study and identification of available datasets; ii) definition of metrics for the description of the built environment; iii) discerning of distinct areas of the urbanised region, homogeneous in terms of configurational and functional properties. The proposed analysis is utilised to analyse the metropolitan area of Cagliari, in Sardinia, Italy. The case study underlines the relevance of developing a morphological understanding of urban form for addressing two issues: i) the definition of metrics for the description of the built environment, and ii) the discerning of distinct areas of the urbanised region. The proposed analysis contributes to applying the Geodesign paradigm to the urban realm by supporting the understanding of the spatial culture of a place
Measuring the Potential for Meaningful Usability of Spaces: The Case Studies of Two Social Housing Districts in Cagliari, Italy
No full textThe ongoing debate on the adaptation of urban environments in the context of climate alterations and the COVID-19 pandemic underlines the need for an organization of urban spaces and structures that promote active mobility, socialisation, sports, and recreational activities. This emerging need intersects with the broader issue of the built environment’s impact on individuals’ quality of life. This study examines the centrality of positive emotions in determining quality of life and introduces the concept of meaningful usability to conceptualize the potential of built environment factors to promote positive emotional responses. The study aims to answer two questions: first, what are the components and qualities of public spaces that influence individuals’ positive emotional responses? Second, how can a set of metrics be defined to measure relevant environmental conditions that are conducive to meaningful usability? The case study focuses on the districts of Is Mirrionis and Mulinu Becciu in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari (MCC). The study contributes to the field of urban studies by developing a procedure that measures access to urban services, Green amenities, Public transit, distance form the urban centre and diversity of functions to structure a cognitive foundation for the development of urban regeneration strategies. The analysis demonstrates the validity of spatial and configurational metrics in identifying vulnerable areas, criticalities in terms of access to services and urban quality and defining the objectives of urban regeneration strategies
How to Ensure Walkable Pedestrian Paths? An Assessment in the Largo Felice Area of Cagliari (Italy)
No full textImprove walkability, and therefore the capacity to provide safe and accessible walking opportunities, has emerged as a crucial topic especially for post-pandemic cities, seeking to create inclusive and liveable urban spaces. In this direction, a user-centred planning approach prioritises the creation of pleasant and accessible walking environments, which are essential for achieving a sustainable urban development. The physical features of the urban areas must be carefully designed and implemented to enhance the living standards, safety, and inclusiveness, also for vulnerable users. Based on the Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, this paper provides an analytical-assessment approach for evaluating walkability in urban settings, in order to identify the significant properties of urban infrastructures. The methodology is characterised by an integrated approach based on a survey process, including remote observations. The evaluation of pedestrian paths’ performances considers the most influencing attributes (e.g., sidewalk width; visibility; crosswalk provision) which have been identified and evaluated for the case study of Largo Felice in Cagliari, Italy. To obtain an overall assessment in terms of safety, approachability, and enjoyment, each of these indicators has been analysed by aggregating and cross-referencing the detected attributes. The results highlight critical issues associated with the study area, that hinder the approachability and safety of pedestrian pathways, e.g., architectural barriers, discontinuities, poor visibility. Finally, the paper provides some recommendations for improving walkability in urban areas. Future research developments will include the assessment of further walkability attributes to perform a comprehensive analysis of an extended study area and in-field survey to validate the results
Planning Strategies and Practices for Accessibility in Peripheral Sparsely Populated Areas (SPA). A Spatial Knowledge Interpretation Approach
No full textThe authors provide a comprehensive and interconnected approach aimed at strategizing the planning of a sustainable alternative and smart mobilityin peripheral sparsely populated areas (SPA) with latent tourism potential. The objective is to represent and optimise the potential for knowledge-driven development of existing resources, distinctive features of contexts, and cooperative networks to support decision makers in defining coordinated interventions at different scales, thereby facilitating the emergence, enhancement, and managed of knowledge. This study demonstrates various strategies for enhancing the accessibility to information and services, for both inhabitants and visitors. A permanent and replicable program comprising a series of integrated, cross-cutting activities at different scales is defined. These activities involve multiple figures who contribute to the daily operations of the area. The proposal suggests the development of an interpretive tool for a SPA with weak connectivity, such as the Sulcis-Iglesiente region in Sardinia, Italy. A spatial organisatiSSon through a network system of accessible nodes is planned. The aim is to promote interconnections and interdependencies among the network nodes, which are linked to the places of greatest strategic potential in terms of services and attractiveness. The focus of this model is particularly on User Generated Content (UGC). The authors conclude that this model aims to improve accessibility to basic services and the use of environmental and cultural resources through alternative and smart sustainable mobility solutions integrated with local services according to the five “S.M.A.R.T.” parameters: Specificity, Measurability, Achievability, Resilience, and Time-bound nature
Evaluation of Urban Spaces Through the Integration of Universal Design and Microsimulation: The Case Study of the Marina District in Cagliari (Italy)
No full textEnsuring safe, functional, and integrated urban environments requires the identification and organisation of qualitative and quantitative analyses to assess the quality of urban spaces, the perceived well-being and by safety the city users, and the interactions between traffic components (e.g., pedestrians and vehicles). Many techniques based on quantitative and qualitative indicators of urban space and transport mobility are offered in literature and this paper provides a methodological approach to perform a comprehensive evaluation of urban spaces and mobility interactions by calculating an Index of Integrated Road Spaces (IIRS) composed of two indicators: the Universal Design Indicator (IUD) and the Service Level Indicator (ISL).This provides the evaluation of Perceived Road Quality (e.g. crossing; visibility; speed limit; road pavement; services), as well as the measurement of network efficiency (e.g. level of service; queue length; number of stops; delay) and environmental impact (e.g. pollutant emissions). The authors applied the merging of the two theoretical approaches of Universal Design and Transport Microsimulation by considering a real case study coinciding with the Marina district in Cagliari (Italy). Future developments of the research will be characterised by a more in-depth analysis, both in terms of spatial extension and number of indicators, useful for performing scenario analysis. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
IDENTIFICATION OF RICE FIELDS IN THE LOMBARDY REGION OF ITALY BASED ON TIME SERIES OF SENTINEL-1 DATA
No full textProbably a consequence of the unbalance between rice production in Asia and in Europe, satellite-based rice identification in Asia is widely discussed in scientific literature whereas SAR-based mapping of European rice paddy field has received less attention so far. In this paper, we propose a simple methodology for identifying European rice paddy fields from time series of SAR data. Standard practices for management of water in conventional European rice paddy fields translates into a distinctive pattern of low backscatter values between April and May, typically preceded and followed by higher backscatter values due to ploughing and emergence. Our proposed method leverages such pattern to discriminate rice against other crops and in a test involving the entire Italian rice-producing region of Lombardy has achieved very good Overall Accuracy (OA) scores. This paper reports the method, our test results and draws some preliminary conclusions
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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